#8 Notre Dame defeats Navy 24-17 at home

SOUTH BEND, IN.– For the final time this season, Notre Dame won in front of their home crowd with a 24-17 victory over Navy. The win came with a battle and a much-needed rebound after the pathetic performance from the week before against Miami.

Things started out pretty slow for both sides. Notre Dame was on the board first, with an 11 play 58-yard drive ending with a 29-yard field goal. It wouldn’t be until late in the second quarter where each team found their groove. Navy burned up all kinds of time and was up 10-3 with just a little over one minute left before halftime. The Irish responded to their touchdown with a TD of their own, coming on a quick 7-play drive. The 62-yards gained came in a short 60 seconds, and the touchdown came on a Brandon Wimbush 2-yard run with 8 seconds left. The kickoff return would send the game to halftime with a 10-10 tied game.

Navy once again in the third quarter used up so much time, with a 15 play 72-yard drive ending in a touchdown which gave them a 17-10 lead. The Irish would score on the following 5-play quick drive ending in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Wimbush to Kevin Stepherson.

After a missed field goal near the end of third for Navy, Notre Dame put up yet another touchdown with 11:49 left in the fourth quarter. The touchdown was from Wimbush to Sepherson for their second connection of the game. A few drives later and time burning, Notre Dame would hold on to win 24-17.
Brandon Wimbush finished 9-for-18 on the day, with 164 yards and two touchdowns. Wimbush added 8 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He had a 93.1 QB rating on the day.

Heisman candidate Josh Adams was the leading rusher, with 18 carries for 106 yards and a long going for 30. The chances are smaller due to his last two performances, but Saturday may have put Adams back in the mix for Heisman a little bit.

Kevin Stepherson caught 5 passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Miles Boykin and Chase Claypool each caught three passes.

UP NEXT: Notre Dame travels to Stanford next Saturday in a big road matchup. The game time and kickoff are to be determined.